What is God, and how can we know Him? (Part 2) – by Sant Kirpal Singh

My dear friends

Continuing talk by Sant Kirpal Singh:

“What is God, and how we can know Him”

The complete text can be read here, under the website of Unity of Man:

http://spirituality.unity-of-man.org/en/spirituality/god-ocean-of-consciousness/276-what-is-god-and-how-can-we-know-him.html

Have a good time in reading and digesting

All good wishes
Didi

What is God, and how can we know Him? (Part 2)

All names are holy. We have respect for all names, although God is the Nameless One. By whatever name you call Him with devotion and faith, He will make appearance and you will come in contact with Him. But names refer to a Reality that cannot be expressed in words.

All Masters have tried to express that Reality, each defining in his own way. Almost all definitions of God are parallel. They all say that God is the first and the last, from which nothing can be excluded, and to which nothing can be added. God is omniscient, omnipresent, and the primal cause – the causeless cause – the seat of all things; existence in itself. That cannot be created. That is is already in existence.

In the Koran, the Prophet Mohammed says: “There is no variableness in God, since He is eternal, immortal, infinite.”

That is unchangeable permanence and everlasting Reality. These words only seek to express, however imperfectly, the great Reality that is at the back of all.

Ever since the Masters first came, they have been trying to express that Reality and chanting praises of the Lord – these have formed the subject of our holy scriptures. But still they say He is as unsaid as ever. For thousands of years, the Masters have been explaining in their own words whatever is possible.

How can the inexpressible be expressed in words? That is the subject of experience you may have, through contact with that Reality. But if even our outer emotions cannot be described in words, how can that Reality be expressed in words? That is why it has always been said that God is inexpressible. There is the same Reality working throughout all creation. Until we have had some experience of that Reality, we will not know what it is like. What we now know is only what is given in books: we have had no first-hand experience of it.

All Masters say: It is the beginning and the end. In Isaiah it is stated: I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.

Again, we find: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.., which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

These are definitions given to show that Reality is unchangeable permanence, which has no beginning and no end. God has no beginning and no end.

But until we have an experience of Reality, we cannot be convinced. Ever since the world began, Masters have been coming and giving explanations to the best of their ability to the people. But with all that they always said that He is as unsaid as ever.

Guru Nanak has put it very aptly:

He is One, He is the First. He is all that is.
His name is Truth. He is the Creator of all,
fearing naught striking fear in naught.
His form on lands and waters is Eternity; the One Self-existent.
Through the grace of His true servant, continually repeat His Name.
He was in the beginning; He is through all ages,
And He shall be the One who lives forever more.

You see that he says the same thing. All Masters, as they have said, had experience of that Reality. Of course, when they gave their descriptions, they expressed It in their own language and in their own way. But you will find that the salient features of whatever they expressed are the same.
Then further Guru Nanak says:

He is beyond thought.
No thinking can conceive Him.

Now the question is: Can we search for Him within the finite pale of our intellect? No, He is beyond thought, no thinking can conceive Him. Not even if the minds of men should think for ages and ages. Then how can we know God? Our bodies, emotions and intellects should first be stilled. Only then the revelation will dawn, you will then know who you are. When you know who you are, you will be able to know and see what God is. That is why Guru Nanak said if you want to grasp Him within the pale of your finite intellect, He cannot be seen.

It is something like the story of the tortoise of the river, who went into a pond. There was another tortoise there. The river tortoise said, “Look here, the sea is very great and has no end.” The tortoise in the pool just stepped back and said: “Is it so much?” “No,” said the other, “It is still greater.” Then again he stepped back a little more, and questioned: “Is it so much?” And the other answered, “No, it is still greater.” Then, he went around the whole pool of water and said, “Is it so much?” The other said, “No, it is still greater.”

The tortoise of the pool was all wrong, you see, because his experience only extended to that pool of water, nothing more. Similarly, the Masters have always been saying that Divine Knowledge was limitless and they cannot expect to do justice to the subject.

The Lord is God. If you call Him anything, you simply want to bring Him within the finite ambit of your intellect. When that Reality is infinite, how can we express It in finite terms? This is what all Masters have been saying. Further, Guru Nanak says: He cannot be conceived.

The Upanishads say: To grasp that Reality within the pale of your intellect is as impossible as trying to quench your thirst by drinking wine. At another place, it is said: . . . or just as if you can squeeze out oil from sand. Both are impossible. Similarly, to bring Him within your intellect, and understand Him fully is not possible.

The Masters did give us something to understand That which could not be expressed in words. By their grace we can just form some idea about Him. They bring us in contact with that Reality when we enter into the Kingdom of God. Then we have some experience of Him. After that we can say there is something.

Guru Nanak says: I am just like a fish in the ocean. I do not know which is one end or the other. Similarly, we cannot grasp Him within our finite intellects.

Nor can He be known by gaining the worlds, for man’s desire is never
satiated, even though all the worlds laden with gold fall to his share.
No human thoughts can carry man far.
The movements of his mind, the thousand acts of wisdom of the world leave him dark, nothing avails.
Vain are the ways of man. How then to find Him? Man feels helpless.

God, soul, and mind are seeing through us

Our senses feed our minds,
spark reactions, effects.
Seeing in the outer sense,
understanding what lies outside.

Two further powers reside in human seeing:
the seeing of the soul, the seeing of God.
When soul and mind are aware of this,
no one is alone anymore, but all-one.

Let us immerse ourselves in this awareness
what we see (our mind), the soul also sees, God also sees
touching in the knowledge of God’s vision,
we are very close to God.

Can we still lie, deceive?
Then sin loses its anchor:
Ignorance, shamelessness, hide-and-seek,
mind in the light of this conscious vision.

Mind aware: it is seen.

Anonymous writer

What is God, and how can we know Him? (Part 1) – by Sant Kirpal Singh

My dear friends,

Today I would like to share with you a talk by Sant Kirpal Singh:

“What is God, and how we can know Him”

– this important talk given by a real competent Master I am going to share with you in several parts.

The complete text can be read here, under the website of Unity of Man:

http://spirituality.unity-of-man.org/en/spirituality/god-ocean-of-consciousness/276-what-is-god-and-how-can-we-know-him.html

Have a good time in reading and digesting

All good wishes
Didi

God an ocean of all consciousness

God is described as the one supreme being, the unmanifest-manifested, the eternal verity, the conscious spirit pervading all forms that emanate from Him – He upholding all creation, but is immanent in every form.

God is nameless, absolute, but when He wished to become from one to many, His power came into expression. That power is known as Naam in the terms of the Masters. It is also known as Shabd, as Kalma, as Word, and other names. That power is the creator of all things, it is controlling all things.

God is an ocean of all consciousness. We are of the same essence as that of God: a drop of the ocean of all consciousness.

Sant Kirpal Singh

What is God, and how can we know Him? (Part 1)

“He is One, He is the First. He is all that is. His name is Truth. He is the Creator of all, fearing naught striking fear in naught. His form on lands and waters is Eternity; the One Self-existent.
Through the grace of His true servant, continually repeat His Name. He was in the beginning; He is through all ages, and He shall be the One who lives forever more.”

This is the first of four talks given during Sant Kirpal Singh’s First World Tour in Philadelphia

Let me introduce myself, I have come to you as a man to man. I am just as any of you are. Of course, each man has got the same privileges from God. I developed in a way that concerns my own Self. What I learned at the feet of my Master about my own Self, the real Self, I will put before you so that those who are seeking after Truth may find some guidance.

As a child, I had that awareness in me: “What is the mystery of life?” I sought to find the solution in books. I may tell you that I had the opportunity of going through almost two libraries and also going through the holy scriptures of almost all the religions, or the majority of them, I would say. There were very good descriptions given there, but I could not find the practical solution of my problem.

What I came to know at the feet of my Master, I will be putting before you in the course of four talks. The subject of each talk will be a little bit different.

Today we will deal with “God and Man.” The next three talks will deal with “Higher Values of Life,” “Kingdom of God,” and lastly “The Most Natural Way to Enter the Kingdom of God.”

From a careful and unbiased study of the sacred books of the world we find that there is one Reality, which is our goal. That Reality is termed God and by various other names.

God made man and man made worldly religions. Such religions were made for the uplift of man. We have to make the best use of them so that ultimately we may know ourselves and then know God.

Religion has two aspects: One is the social side, or the outward side. The other aspect is the inner religion, the spiritual side. We have to start with outer forms of religions. Man is social; he must remain in some society.

Each society has its own various ceremonies and rituals, its own scriptures, its own mode of saying prayers. This is the non-essential side. We have to remain in’ some social religion because man is a social being – and to remain in some social religion is a blessing. But that is an elementary step – our going to churches or other holy places of worship, saying prayers, reading the scriptures, observing certain ceremonies, and rituals. All these go to create love in us for God.

But if our performance of rituals, reading of the scriptures or attending the churches or other holy places of worship does not even create in us love of God and constitutes mere mental gymnastics, these lead us nowhere. That does not mean that you are not to live in any social religion. You are to do so. If you revolt against it, you will have to form another society.

Suppose there are ten thousand people of your views. Then you will have to form a separate society and make certain rules to go by. After some time you find that a certain rule has proved defective and must be amended. So you go on amending the rules.

All the same this has to do with your outer selves. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Similarly, social religions were made for man, but man was not made for social religions. The purpose of remaining in any social religion is just to know oneself and then to know God. That is one aspect of religion. The other aspect is the observance of certain rituals and ceremonies. These vary in different religions, but you will find their purpose is nearly the same.

For example, in some churches to sit bareheaded is a mark of respect. In India, to sit with one’s head covered is a sign of respect. That is a custom there. Apparently, there is a difference between the two observances, but the purpose is the same. Both signify that whenever you sit in the presence of God, just remembering Him, you should sit in a respectful posture.

These are, however, non-essentials. The purpose is the same, no doubt. Apparently, some differences exist, but those differences do not affect in any way the purpose of the church.

Those who follow the letter of the rule, simply forget the spirit and fight only for the apparent differences. In Arabia, where there is a dearth of water, there is a custom that whenever you say prayers, you should just wash your hands, feet, face, and then sit for prayers. In other countries where there is an abundance of water, they say that until you take a bath, it will not be right to sit for prayers. That is only an apparent difference on account of the climatic or geographical conditions of the place.

We have to live in some social religion. So it is better to remain where you are. Do not change, if it can be helped. While there, what should you do? Just read the holy scriptures – the sayings of the Masters – you have, and try to understand what they say, and live up to them.
This is what you find: All Masters who came in the past were the children of Light, and came to give Light to the world. They did not come for any special religion or special country. They came for all humanity.

It is now time to cast aside the trivial differences that exist – the non-essentials. We should just look to the purpose for which they were made, and open our eyes to the Reality that we are all worshipping the same God. These were meant to represent that Reality which exists.

Now you will find, from the standpoint of all religions, that God the absolute is beyond what is known and manifested. That is something even beyond what is supporting and creating all creation. That Reality is at the back of everything. Can we search Him or find Him? No. He cannot be searched. He is unsearchable.

Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty? The Almighty is inexpressible and cannot be expressed in words.

Names are simply given by the Masters to express that Reality, which is really inexpressible. He is the Changeless One. You find: “Forever more, O Lord, Thy Word existed in Heaven.” Forever more – that is the lasting Reality and that is the Changeless One. Ultimately, it is unconditioned and undivided. He is the Nameless One.

Quote: “God-power manifested” by Kabir

 

Told by Sant Kirpal Singh

Kabir once said:

“I went to the House of my Father and found that He was not there. I came to know that He was living with the Saints here on earth”.

How Sant Kirpal Singh met His Master 7 years before He saw Him physically

 
 
Dear friends,
 
Today I want to share with the story how Sant Kirpal Singh met His Master.
Thank you for your attention.
Love and Oneness
Didi
 
 

Sant Kirpal Singh

 
 
 

Baba Sawan Singh

 
 

Sant Kirpal Singh reports from His own life:
 
I used to pray: “Oh God, I’m convinced that without one who knows You, nobody can reach You.” It is a practical matter of self-analysis. God cannot be known by the outgoing faculties, by the vital airs or by the intellect. It is a matter of seeing: whoever sees can make you see. “I know there’s a need – definitely: all scriptures say so. I’m quite convinced, but where am I to go? Suppose I go to somebody who has not met You – what will be my fate?” I used to pray like that. “If You could reveal Yourself to the old Saints” – sometimes there are stories like that – “why can’t You do it in my case? I am convinced, I’ve great regard for that need, but there are so many Masters – whom shall I select?” With this, my Master (Baba Sawan Singh) began to appear to me when I sat in meditation or when I was doing something. I thought perhaps it was Guru Nanak. He used to talk to me. In those days there was the First Great War, and my brother was on the Indian front along the Persian side. I used to traverse along with Him and went to those places, here, there and everywhere.
The Guru appears when the disciple is ready.
 
I was very fond of rivers, ponds, water. Even in my young life, I used to go and sit by the waterside or some river, the whole night through, in a calm and quiet place. The running water helps a little to concentrate. So this went on for some time. In the meantime, I was first at Peshawar, and then I was transferred to Nowshera station: a river runs by there. I used to sit by that riverside for hours. Then I came to Jhelum’s side. That is also by the riverside, and I sat there for hours on end. I was very fond of swimming, too. (Just enter the river: if you’re not afraid, nothing will happen; it’s only fear that kills you. If you simply shake your foot a little or move your hands a little, you won’t drown.)
 
In the meantime I was transferred to Lahore: that was also by the riverside. I passed my days there. There was also the river Beas: “Let me have a look at that!” One Sunday morning I left by train and detrained at Beas station. There was an old man there; he was the station master. I asked him which side the river flows. He was (Bua Das), a devotee of the Master: “Do you want to see the Master?” – “Does a Master live here?” – “Yes!” “Where?” – “On the riverside.” I told him, “I have two things now. I’ll enjoy the river scenery and also see the Master at the same time.” Then he directed me there. Master was sitting upstairs; He was taking His meal inside. I went out and sat outside. After half an hour or so, He came out. I was wonder-struck: He was the same man who had been appearing to me for seven years before, from 1917 to 1924. I paid homage to Him: “Why so late?” He said, “That was the most opportune time that you are to come.”
 
So this is how I met the Master. “The Guru appears when the chela (disciple) is ready” – even to the most skeptical mind. Perhaps none of you has been so skeptical as I was; I was afraid, you see, lest I go to somebody who had not met God; and my life would be spoiled.
 
When I went to Him, then – once or twice, every Sunday I used to go – He looked after me like a father looks after his son coming: “All right, arrange this room, bring this bedding”, this and that thing. I requested, “Well, Master, don’t You worry, I’m here, at Your feet.” – “All right, now, you’ll have to look after this Dera (Ashram); go on with it. Those who come, you’ll look after them.” These were the words He expressed, the very first time.
 
The next time there was initiation – this was early February – and all were sitting in initiation. Master said, “You sit inside.” I will come. He gave initiation there; I was inside, sitting in His room. This is how I was initiated! I was waiting for Him; perhaps He will call me. I was sitting inside. Then He returned. I asked Him, “Will you kindly initiate me?” – “Oh yes, surely.” What the mystery of life is – what is a man, what is a soul – was solved in little or no time.
 
A qualification of a Master is given as one who can give you some experience. Some say, “All right, go here; here are maps to show you the way; go by this road, or turn right, then left; this or that.” Sometimes you have to hunt for hours, and you do not find the way. But a Master is one who gives you some experience to start with, who can appear and remove the dark veil by giving a sitting; and you can testify that it is so. You are not to wait until after death or until after many years. He does not tell you, “All right, go on; you’ll have it in due course.” You’ll find that it is so with most of the teachers: “All right, do some regular meditation; some reaction from the past might help you.” But the competency of the Master lies in the fact that He is able and competent to give experience to the learned or the unlearned, to a man off the street.
 
It so happened that there was some controversy when our Master became a Master – I mean, took up the role of the Master. (He was a Master, but He took up the role of the Master.) When others asked, “Why, how can you become a Master?” He was very polite and very humble. He never liked to get into a controversy. After they kept pushing the point, He said, “All right. Catch some five or six people off the street, make them sit, and give them some experience. I will also catch some, and then we’ll see who can carry it out!” That’s all: to give the ultimate goal and what to do to reach it. So this is how I met my Master.
 
Generally, when people ask me, “What is Your date of birth?” I tell them, “I have three birthdays: first when I was born in the flesh; second when I met Him inside seven years before; and third when I met Him physically.”
 
These are the gifts of God. I was very afraid because generally, you’ll find that Masters simply tell you, “Go on reading scriptures.” That is right; that is the first step. But you cannot have the right import of the scriptures unless you meet somebody who has that experience: he alone is able to give you an experience, to give you the right understanding and the right import of the scriptures. Because, what are the scriptures? They are the fine records of the experiences that the Masters had in their lives. Then, perform one ritual or the other; that’s all right for the preparation of the ground. But seeing is something else: it only arises when you analyse yourself when you rise above body-consciousness and you testify that there is Light. A Master is also defined as one who can make the Music of the Spheres audible. Who can give you Light and Music of the Spheres? What are these two? These are the two aspects of the God-into-expression Power. God has no equal, no father, no mother – nothing of the sort. Only He who is Word personified can give you the experience of that Power, the very first day. Even the blind man has that inner eye, called the single eye. Scriptures tell us, “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light … If you shut the doors of the temple of the body, you’ll see the light of heaven.” That is called the third eye or shiv netra; there are so many names for it. These are the basic teachings that give you the ultimate contact with that reality. Philosophies deal with theories. This is what is called mysticism: it gives you contact with reality – that reality which came into expression. Psychology works at the level of the intellect. This does not work at the level of the intellect; it works only when you are intellectually stilled. In psychology and philosophy, you have two: a subject and an object. And in mysticism, there is no duality: you have direct contact with the God-into-expression Power. The more you are unattached from outside, the more you have an ethical way of living, the more you come in contact with that Power; and, like an electric lift, it will take you to the place from where it emanated.
 
God came into expression from the wordless state as Light and Sound: “The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.” That Power which manifests in some human pole is called the God-power or the Master-power or the Gurupower: Christ lived before Jesus, mind that, and lives forever. This is what St. John said. But we only ruminate over the scriptures, we don’t follow what is what. Once a man starts with the wrong thing, others follow him blindly. How many are there who can give you a first-hand experience? They may say, “All right, go on meditating,” and some may get an experience, but others may not. This is where the competency lies: because of the God in Him, not the son of man.
 
Someone asked our Master, “How should we address you?” He said, “Take me as your brother, as your father, as your friend, as your teacher. Just act up to what I say. When you rise above the body and you find Him inside, too, and there He is also competent to guide you, then you will call me by any name you like.”